1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to airbag control systems and, more particularly, to an airbag control system for simultaneously controlling both an interior airbag and an exterior airbag.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, airbags are installed in a vehicle to protect passengers in the event of a vehicle crash. As shown in FIG. 1, the airbags include interior airbags 30 and exterior airbags 50.
The interior airbags 30 are installed at a driver seat and a passenger seat which are provided at a front position in a vehicle 10, and are deployed in the event of a vehicle crash, thus protecting a driver and a passenger. Further, the exterior airbags 50 are installed at a front position of the exterior portion of the vehicle 10, thus protecting the vehicle 10 being driven and passengers from a pedestrian who is in front of the vehicle 10 or a vehicle ahead of the vehicle in question in the event of the vehicle crash.
However, since sensors collecting data to deploy the interior airbag 30 and the exterior airbag 50 are different from each other, the interior airbag 30 and the exterior airbag 50 are constructed to be individually controlled. Because of different reference values, the time of deployment of the airbags 30 and 50 may vary. Thus, the airbags 30 and 50 are problematic in that they may not effectively protect passengers in the event of a vehicle crash.
Further, since the interior airbag 30 and the exterior airbag 50 are separately controlled, the number of parts is increased, so that the manufacturing cost increases or the operating method is complicated, and thus the efficiency with which the airbags are deployed is low.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.